


Maybe in a Different When

by jomlette



Series: Keith's Birthday Week 2017 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Kid Keith (Voltron), Light Angst, Orphan Keith (Voltron), The others show up, Time Travel, keith's birthday week, kind of??, past/future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 06:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12475728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jomlette/pseuds/jomlette
Summary: “Life isn’t gonna get easier for you. You’re gonna have to fight tooth and nail to make your way to where I am now. But I promise you, no matter how much you’re gonna suffer, how much you’ll want to quit, how much you just want to disappear, because Mom and Dad aren’t around--” he couldn’t help but wince at the gasps he heard around him, “--it’s worth it. Because it led you to these people, and I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world. Your Shiro is waiting for you, and you should find him, on your own merits.”Child version of Keith gets sent forward in time to meet his future family. Normal Keith can't understand why past him seems to hate his guts.





	Maybe in a Different When

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, last one I'm doing! Thankfully I finished this right on time for Keith's 19th (20th?) birthday. That boy deserves all the love and happiness in the world, I hope he knows how much he's loved.

After their encounters with another Slav, Shiro with a weird accent, and evil Alteans, Keith would’ve thought they’d learn to stay away from alternate realities. Guess he was wrong.

Messing with alternate realities was exactly why they were in the lounge, trying to coax a _tinier version of himself_ to crawl out from underneath the couches.

“For the last time, he’s not from an alternate reality!” Pidge exclaims, frustrated. “He’s definitely from our reality, just from a different point in time.”

“And for the last time, I don’t care.” Keith rubbed his temples. _Patience yields focus_ . “We just need to get him---me? We just need to get _it_ out of here so that we can get back to our mission.”

A little hiss comes from underneath the couch. Lance, who had really been the only one out of all of them trying to get the little boy out, recoiled back and cradled his hand.

“He scratched me!” He stood up, and glared at the couch, looking quite offended. “And on the same arm that he bit me! Guys, how are we gonna get him out?”

Little feral growls filled the room. Keith was beginning to understand why the other orphan kids avoided him. Perhaps this early behaviour was the earliest sign of his….extraterrestrial origins. That, or maybe all kids were like that. He didn’t really know.

The morning had started normal enough, as normal as being in an alien castle ship could be. Pidge had burst excitedly into the dining hall, telling everyone to come to the lab to see her latest technology that would’ve “changed the playing field!”. Some mispressed buttons, panic, and explosion later, little Keith had appeared, scared and confused, and immediately took off. _An entire goddamn hour_ they wasted just to find him in the lounge at a loss of what to do.

Shiro and Hunk walked back into the room, Coran and Allura trailing behind them. In Shiro’s hand was a plate of sliced fruit from the latest planet they visited.

He knelt down gently in from of the couch little Keith was under. The growls ceased for a moment. Keith had never heard softer coos coming from the man.

“You must be hungry,” he set the plate down a bit further away, grabbing a smaller slice in his hand, “we’ve got some really yummy food, but you have to come out if you wanna try it.” His voice was quiet, just a bit louder than a murmur. Not the tone of a leader, but of a mother, perhaps.

Everyone gasped as a little hand peaked through the edge, attempting to swipe at the fruit. Shiro merely chuckled and removed his hand. Soon the little hand became a little arm, and then a mass of unruly black hair, and then a chubby little face, and finally out crawled the little boy.

The top of his head only reached Shiro’s waist, the fluffiness of his hair giving him an extra inch. He looked to be only about five or six, seven at the oldest. Keith noted all the small bruises and cuts around his arms and knees, marks from all the fights he had gotten into with the orphan boys. His face formed a little pout, one that embarrassingly reminded himself of his own scowls. No one dared to move, in fear that one move would send the child back into hiding.

Little Keith ( _was that really what he was calling him now? Oh well, better than nothing._ ) turned to Shiro and a little grumble passed through his lips.

“Sorry, what was that?” Shiro teased.

“....food.” He grumbled a bit louder, half heartedly swiping at Shiro’s hand. Everyone in the room seemed to get a laugh out of it, as Shiro gave him the slice. Little Keith devoured it in seconds, and glared at the dish holding the rest. Shiro gave him slice after slice, and the plate emptied quicker than anyone would’ve guessed.

“Guess he _was_ hungry!” Hunk laughed. The child sent a glare in his direction, but that did nothing but make him look like a little black cat.

 

* * *

 

The next few days passed slowly. Pidge explained to the team that the machine she used to get Little Keith would need about a week to calibrate, so they would have to get used to the extra body around. Shiro of course, was the only one the child really trusted ( _“That’s ironic!” Lance had exclaimed, earning him a slap from Pidge, muttering “I don’t think you know what ironic means.”_ ), promoting him as the unofficial babysitter. Not that he seemed to mind. Keith, in all honesty, thought the man looked a bit too calm for someone taking care of a younger version of himself.

“ _Oh come on, he isn’t that bad,_ ” he had laughed.

Keith caught sight of them watching him fight the gladiators on the third day. Shiro was standing off to the side, with the child sitting comfortably on his shoulders. As he began to walk over to the two, however, he noticed Little Keith’s face turn dark, pressing himself down into the white fluff of the man’s hair.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked casually, pretending not to be hurt over his own rejection.

“Oh nothing, nothing really,” Shiro grinned, revealing that something indeed happened. “Good technique on the gladiators, by the way. You’re really pulling through as our best fighter.” Keith didn’t get a chance to thank him as he sped on to his main point. “I think I finally helped Little Keith understand the concept of time travel.”

“Oh?

“I told him about how this was the future, and that you’re the future version of him!”

_Ah._

“Go on, Little Keith, say hi to Big Keith!”

Little Keith rose his head from its place on Shiro’s head. The dark look in his eye made him feel quite uncomfortable, yet he couldn’t bring himself to glare back. The child huffed before returning to smushing himself against the man.

“Guess he’s a little shy.” Shiro said.

“Yeah, I was pretty non verbal when I was that age.” Keith replied. He half turned back to the gladiators, before looking back at Shiro. “Say, do you have time right now? The robots are getting old, and we haven’t sparred in a while.”

“Sure thing, just let me put Little Keith down,” he went to kneel down, but just then Little Keith thrashed a little on his shoulders, causing him to straighten back up to avoid letting him fall.

“Food!” Little Keith whined, “Hungry!”

Shiro shushed and rocked a little to calm the child down. As soon as the boy stopped kicking, he sent an apologetic look to normal Keith. Keith stopped him before he could open his mouth, shaking his head and offering a small smile. _It’s fine, just go_ , it meant. The man began to walk out, and he went back to the gladiators, but not before catching the menacing glare Little Keith threw at him.

 

* * *

 

On the fourth day, Little Keith warmed up to Hunk.

It had been dinner time, and Hunk, along with Coran’s hindrance help, they made an Altean inspired dish, with a few alterations to make it edible and delicious for the humans and half Galrans at the table as well. It was a fairly messy meal, and while Shiro ate, Hunk offered to spoon feed Little Keith. Surprisingly, Little Keith didn’t mind the babying, in fact seeming to thrive on it. The table still ended up being a mess, but the child stayed to play with help Hunk out.

On the fifth day, Little Keith warmed up to Lance and Pidge.

He had been walking around by himself (Keith may or may not had been following him around the castle without him noticing; It wasn’t technically stalking since they were the same person!) and stumbled upon Lance and Pidge playing their video game. He didn’t even need to say anything before he ended up sitting in Lance’s lap, getting into the game just as much as the two were, and high fiving Pidge after she beat the ever living crap out of Lance.

On the sixth day, Little Keith warmed up to Allura and Coran.

Nothing out of the ordinary even happened this time. Coran and Allura were a bit jumpy around the small child, unsure about the biology and development of humans. Little Keith was actually the one to approach them, and after some odd Altean jokes and anecdotes, they ended up on the couch, practically _melting_ over the boy.

Keith didn’t fail to notice how Little Keith never went a ten foot radius of him. It didn’t hurt. Really.

The seventh day was a solemn one. Everyone gathered into Pidge’s lab, Shiro holding Little Keith’s hand. Pidge placed a little bracelet on his small wrist, supposedly set to return him automatically when the machine was fully charged, which would happen in a few minutes. Keith stood a little way from the group. He _really_ wasn’t in the mood. Allura, bless her heart, noticed his down face.

“Is everything alright?” She asked. This caught everyone’s attention, all eyes were on him now. Though, Little Keith’s were less than impressed.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he dismissed, “just a little tired, is all.”

“I agree on that one, Mullet,” Lance stretched his arms over his head, letting out a groan.

“Same here.” Pidge agreed. “Maybe we could watch some of those Altean movies we found in the library a while back.”

“After we send Little Keith back home, heck yeah!” Lance cheered.

Keith could’ve never predicted what had happened next, over his one little comment.

A sniffle made everyone look back at Little Keith. He was no longer holding Shiro’s hand, as he hid his face in his arms. Hunk made a move to hold him, but the child roughly jerked away.

“Keith, what’s wro--”

“Don’t send me back!”

Little Keith’s face was puffy red, because of tears or anger, he didn’t know. He looked at the others as if they had just betrayed him.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, why are you sending me back!”

“Because,” Allura explained with a gentle tone, “your mother and father must be worried sick about you. Your entire family must be.”

Instead of bringing comfort to him, this only made him recoil further from the group. “I don’t wanna go back!”

Keith’s irritation had built up to his breaking point. But right before he was about to explode, he realized it.

The glares Little Keith gave him.

How easily and eagerly he welcomed touch and attention after being shown they were kind people.

How he avoided Keith with every fibre of his being.

This wasn’t him just being a brat to Keith, he was _jealous_ of Keith and his new found family.

The fact of being an orphan always lingered in his mind, but after years of that glaring reality in his face, he learned to be numb to it. After all, he was technically an adult now, what difference does it make? He never told anyone that particular detail of his past, but he was sure Shiro had his suspicions. He hadn’t stopped to think for a moment to realize that _this Keith hasn’t become numb to it just yet._ With that, he put on a brave face, and walked briskly towards the child.

Little Keith noticed his presence and tried to punch him. Keith caught his tiny angry fist with a soft, yet firm grip, and this information didn’t pass over the child’s head. He opened his eyes and looked him, anger seething.

“You love everyone here, right?” He asked, not expecting an answer. The silence was confirmation enough. “I do too. I love everyone here as well.” A deep breath. “The only reason we’re here now, the only reason we’ve gotten the privilege to know these people is because we earned it.” Little Keith’s glare softened into one of neutral confusion.

“Life isn’t gonna get easier for you. You’re gonna have to fight tooth and nail to make your way to where I am now. But I promise you, no matter how much you’re gonna suffer, how much you’ll want to quit, how much you just want to disappear, because Mom and Dad aren’t around--” he couldn’t help but wince at the gasps he heard around him, “--it’s worth it. Because it led you to these people, and I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world. Your Shiro is waiting for you, and you should find him, on your own merits.”

Crushing silence. He was certain either Pidge and Allura was tearing up behind him, but he wasn’t able to check, as Little Keith pushed himself into his arms and sobbed into his shoulder. He held on just as tight. Slowly, the child pushed himself away, tears still falling from his red blotchy cheeks. Keith wiped them away.

“Go on, be great.” He whispered. And with that, Little Keith disappeared in a blast of white light, only evidence remaining of him being the tears he left behind.

The team held onto the silence a little longer. Shiro was the first one to kneel beside him, pulling him into a hug. Hunk joined them moments later, then Allura, and Pidge, and soon enough everyone had him held in one big group hug. No questions. No accusations.

They stayed like that for a while. Keith was thankful for every second of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream about Keith with me on my tumblr @kittykattykatherine


End file.
